Choosing a Hobby That Feeds You

A hobby feels like something that should come naturally. Do we really need a step-by-step on how to choose them? The problem (in my personal experience) is that we want to try a whole lot of things, but with limited time and a relatively short attention span (just me?). So, hobbies should feed different needs if they’re going to stick and satisfy us.

Your hobbies might feed more than one of these needs at a time, or you may need to have a number of different hobbies to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your spare time.

These needs are:

SPIRITUAL
Do something that contributes toward and adds to your spiritual health. This may be engaging in a religious education work, re-enacting Bible (or whatever book you use) stories with your family, meditating, building models based on well-known accounts, writing songs or verses based on your beliefs, and so on. Just ensure that this hobby is spiritually uplifting (preferably to others as well as to you).

HEALTH
At least one of your hobbies needs to promote your personal health and well-being, because a healthy body and a healthy mind go hand-in-hand. Most of all, you need to find something that you enjoy. Otherwise, it’ll fizzle out as fast as it began. Be brave, try new things, think outside of your comfort zone. I’m not a strong swimmer and have a sad sense of balance. But, when visiting Mauritius, I got on a SUP and really enjoyed it. Now, I just need to find one of those wiiide boards that they give to the tourists without health insurance.

See? There I am. In water. On a board. Not drowning.

FINANCIAL
Cash motivates. If you enjoy something and are fairly good at it, consider how you can use it to make money. You like playing around with a crochet hook? Offer to make hair bands, bags and beanies for a local boutique. Enjoy arranging flowers? Take pictures of your arrangements and sell your skills to local doctors’ rooms and offices that might want to brighten up their reception rooms. Whatever you’re good at is an area in which there is some potential to make it a little more lucrative for you. This doesn’t mean making it your sole source of income. Just use it to make money so that there is even more reward.

By categorising your potential or existing hobbies like this, you will reign them in and ensure that you are not wasting time or investing your efforts into some bottomless pit. I’d love to hear more about your interests and how they fit in under these umbrellas.